


Memories

by the_13th_battalion



Series: Zygerria/Kadavo Chronicles [2]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, CT-7567 | Rex Needs a Hug, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Obi-Wan Kenobi Needs a Hug, Slavery, Zygerria Arc (Star Wars: Clone Wars), someday they will, they don't get them though oops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 15:21:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29155758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_13th_battalion/pseuds/the_13th_battalion
Summary: As despair begins to fall over Rex and Obi-Wan, they fight it back by sticking together and sharing memories of the past.
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi & CT-7567 | Rex
Series: Zygerria/Kadavo Chronicles [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2127948
Comments: 16
Kudos: 68
Collections: febuwhump 2021





	Memories

**Author's Note:**

> Hello hellooooo and welcome to part 2!! This one is for the Febuwhump prompt "I can't take this anymore". I started out with a completely different fic than this one, actually, and then I stopped halfway through, tore it out, and redid it because I had BETTER ideas! I think you'll like this one lol

A cloud of dust puffed in Rex’s face with every strike of his pickaxe. He suppressed a cough and tightened his hold on the tool’s rough wooden handle. A splinter dug into his palm. He almost welcomed it; at least it was a different form of pain, something beside the ache in his knees or the sting of electricity on his neck.

Obi-Wan shifted next to him. He reached up to wipe the sweat off his forehead with his tattered sleeve. He left a streak of dirt and a little blood in its wake.

Rex’s hand faltered. _No one deserves this, least of all him._

A guard sauntered past. He caught Rex’s eye and immediately flicked his electrowhip, catching Rex just above his ankle. He drew in a sharp breath. His hands stilled and his nails dug into the rock. Obi-Wan flinched and pounded the rock with a little more urgency. He stared fixedly at his work, a dull sheen of resignation over his eyes.

Rex grit his teeth and glared at the rock in front of him. The splinter drove further into his palm. He had never hated anyone before, he hadn’t even hated Pong Krell, but the Zygerrians certainly made his blood boil.

A scuffle broke out to Rex’s left. His head snapped up in time to watch the same guard grab a young Togruta’s arm and toss her on the ground. He bellowed something about working faster. She screamed and convulsed as the guard whipped her repeatedly. Her hands fisted in the dirt and gravel.

Before Rex could react, before he could grab him and tell him to _keep your head low, there will be time for this when we escape,_ Obi-Wan was on his feet.

“Stop that!”

The guard turned at the sound of Obi-Wan’s voice. He had a particular glint in his eye that sent a shiver up Rex’s spine. “Did you say somethin’, Jedi filth?”

Obi-Wan hesitated. Compassion and conditioning warred in his eyes. They darted from the leering gold gaze of the guard to the wide blue of the Togruta at his feet. Finally, Obi-Wan slumped back on his knees and lowered his head.

The guard laughed. “That’s what I thought.” He flicked his wrist as he stalked off. The electrowhip struck the Togruta’s arm while she pulled herself up. She cried out and fell back on her front, sobbing.

Obi-Wan squeezed his eyes shut. He exhaled, his breath quivering as it slipped out of parted lips. “I can’t take this anymore.”

Rex’s chest tightened. He lowered his pickaxe and stared at Obi-Wan’s sagging, exhausted figure. “Sir, we can’t let this place overcome us. We _will_ find a way out.”

“I know, Rex, I just...” His eyes opened and trailed back to the Togruta girl.

Rex’s gaze followed. He wondered for a moment if Obi-Wan saw Ahsoka in her too.

“I can’t take this anymore. It’s killing me.”

Obi-Wan spoke with such quiet conviction that Rex’s limbs iced over. He looked back at Obi-Wan, his mind racing. _I can’t let him succumb to this place. I owe General Skywalker and Commander Tano that much at least._

“Tell me your happiest memories,” he blurted out.

Obi-Wan raised his head. “What?”

Rex cast his gaze to the sides. None of the guards were close enough to hear. He adjusted his grip on his pickaxe. “Your memories, sir. The best ones you’ve got. I’ll start, if you want.”

Obi-Wan gave him a slight nod. The shadows across his face lessened, even as he lifted his own pickaxe and resumed his work.

“There was this one time, when I was still a cadet,” Rex began, his tone barely rising above a murmur, “I was struggling to understand a particular strategy. Cody came by and saw I needed help, so he started acting it all out with his books and other knick knacks for props. I was taking notes as quickly as I could. Cody tried to climb up on my desk chair but he lost his balance and grabbed for me. I wasn’t prepared so instead of catching him, I fell with him.”

A corner of Obi-Wan’s mouth tilted up.

Rex huffed out a faint laugh. “We just laid there for a minute, all tangled up, then we caught each other’s eye and started to laugh. I don’t think either of us had laughed so hard in our whole lives.”

“Did it help you remember the strategy?”

“Yes, it did, but it turns out textbook strategies don’t matter much to General Skywalker.”

Obi-Wan’s eyes looked a little livelier. “Textbooks of any sort have never interested Anakin, I assure you. I remember how difficult it was to get him to study for his courses. He always preferred machinery schematics over any of his reading materials, and our quarters were always covered in various droid parts.”

Rex raised an eyebrow, amusement tugging at his lips. “Cody is a stickler for textbook rules and regulations. I guess I turned out a bit like him in that respect.”

“Hopefully that will rub off on Anakin someday, although I doubt it will. He lives by his own rules.”

“He’s always been like that, then?”

“Always.”

“What are your happiest memories with him?”

Obi-Wan smiled. “Where do I even begin?”

They spent the rest of the day muttering stories to each other. They swapped tales of Rex’s cadet days and early missions, of Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon’s misadventures, of Anakin’s increasingly chaotic time as a padawan. They talked about the people they loved, the moments captured in their memories, and the ways they shaped their lives.

Before Rex climbed into his bunk that night, Obi-Wan grasped his arm. Rex stopped and met his gaze.

“Thank you,” Obi-Wan whispered.

Rex clasped his arm. “Anytime, sir.”

For the first time since their arrival, Rex and Obi-Wan slept peacefully.

**Author's Note:**

> Ok unfortunately this ends the ones I have prewritten because I decided to do this very late and I work a lot OOF. I'm fairly confident I will have tomorrow's up on time, though! I have all the fics planned out so hopefully I'll be able to keep up :))) In the meantime, come yell about Star Wars and musicals with me on Tumblr at the13thbattalion!


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